Item of jewellery to wear on the finger, comprising a sliding link

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an item of jewelery (10) to wear on the finger (D), comprising: a first ring (20; 30) to be placed over the finger (D); a second ring (40) to be placed over the same finger (D); and a sliding link (50) connecting the first ring (20; 30) and the second ring (40) together.

The present invention relates to items of jewelry to wear on the finger.

Patent 804 A.D. 1909 discloses an item of jewelry comprising a pluralityof bands to be fitted on one and the same finger and connected togetherby two chains positioned on the sides. The bands are worn on the firstand second phalanges.

Other known items of jewelry propose to embellish the nail and comprisetwo rings for this purpose, as illustrated in French patent 537 670, oneof which rings is worn on the first phalanx and the other at the end ofthe finger, the two being connected by a chain.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,947 describes an item of jewelry comprising a bandintended to be fitted on the first phalanx, connected by a chain to amount arranged to be secured on the nail.

A ring having an open band, the band carrying a decorative element ateach of its extremities, is known from application EP 1 745 714 A1. Theopening of this type of ring is obtained by torsion and offsetting ofthe two extremities. A disadvantage of this type of ring is the risk ofloss when the opening of the band is large and when the ring turnsrelative to the finger, for example, because of the activity of theperson wearing it.

Also known from application WO 2014083537 is an item of jewelryexhibiting two rings having open bands, carrying a decorative elementand connected together by a flexible link.

A need exists to be able to benefit from an item of jewelry offeringnovel aesthetic possibilities making it possible to wear, on one finger,two rings that are connected together while continuing to ensure wearingcomfort and while limiting the risk of the undesirable displacement ofthe rings on the finger.

The invention proposes to respond to this need, and it achieves thisthanks to an item of jewelry to wear on the finger, comprising:

-   -   a first ring to wear on the finger,    -   a second ring to wear on the same finger,    -   a sliding link connecting the first ring and the second ring        together.

The expression “sliding link” should be understood to denote a linkpermitting a degree of axial freedom along the latter. The sliding linkmay exhibit a sliding clearance allowing a certain angular movementbetween the elements which slide.

The sliding link permits the two rings to be kept on the finger bypreventing the rotation of one in relation to the other. The two ringsthus possess little possibility for rotational movement in relation toone another, and the correct support of one ring on the finger bringsabout that of the other ring through the effect of the sliding link.

The sliding link also makes it possible for the distance between the tworings to be capable of varying freely in such a way, on the one hand, asto adapt the item of jewelry to the size of the finger and, on the otherhand, as to permit the finger to move freely.

Preferably, the sliding link connects the first ring and the second ringtogether via the underside of the finger. Thus, it is invisible when thehand is viewed from above, which does not have an adverse effect on theaesthetics of the item of jewelry. This sliding link is preferablysingle.

The sliding link is preferably not flexible. This makes it possible toimmobilize the rings in relation to each other outside the axialmobility provided by the sliding link. The rings are thus not able toturn or to become detached from the finger independently of one another.

Preferably, the bands of the rings and optionally the sliding link aremade from the same material.

The greatest length L_(max) of the sliding link at its maximum extensionmay be between 20 mm and 50 mm, preferably between 25 mm and 35 mm, andits smallest length L_(min) at its minimum extension may be between 10mm and 40 mm, preferably between 20 mm and 30 mm.

Preferably, the sliding link comprising a slide and a slider, the slidersliding in the slide in the longitudinal axis of the slide, the latterbeing parallel to the longitudinal axis of the finger wearing the itemof jewelry. The first ring may be secured on the slide, in particular atone extremity of the slide, and the second ring may be secured to theslider, in particular to the free extremity of the slider, that is tosay the extremity of the slider remaining outside the slide.

Preferably, the sliding of the slider in the slide is free.

The slide may comprise two parallel bars connected by a bridge definingan opening for guiding the slider.

Preferably, the sliding link is duplicated by an articulation allowingthe wearer to bend his/her finger when the item of jewelry is being wornon the latter. Preferably, the slider comprises a first part and asecond part connected together by an articulation, the first part beinginserted into the slide and the second part carrying the second ring.The articulation makes it possible to bend the second part in order toform an elbow between the first and the second part, such that theunderside of the second ring folds towards the underside of the firstring. A suchlike articulation makes it possible, in particular when thearticulation is below the junction between the phalanges, to follow themovement of the finger when it is bent. Thus, when the wearer bendshis/her finger wearing the item of jewelry, the latter bends at itsarticulation and the slider slides in the slide at the same time as thefinger bends. The combination of these two movements permits the wearerto bend his/her finger easily without obstruction.

The item of jewelry may comprise a third ring connected to the two otherrings by the sliding link. The third ring may be secured to the slide,in particular to the other extremity of the slide. Thus, the third ringis secured in relation to the first ring but remains mobile in relationto the second ring.

The item of jewelry may comprise a fourth ring connected to the otherrings by the sliding link. The fourth ring may be secured to the slider,in particular to the second part of the slider in proximity to thearticulation.

Preferably, at least one of the rings, and preferably each of the rings,comprises an open band to wear on the finger and a decorative elementsecured on the corresponding band.

At least one of the rings, in particular the first or the third ring,may benefit from the support offered by the finger adjacent to thatfinger on which it is fitted, when the decorative element is situated onthe ring in such a way as to partially overlap both the finger which iswearing the ring and the adjacent finger.

The width of opening of the bands is preferably sufficient to permitplacing on the finger laterally. This avoids the need to slide thefinger into the band, as is the case with a closed ring. The fitting ofthe item of jewelry on the finger may thus be performed easily.

Preferably, the opening of each of the bands of the first and secondrings is situated on the upper side of said rings.

The invention makes it possible to have very open bands, and thereforeto make an item of jewelry particularly aesthetically appealing, forexample by allowing essentially only the decorative elements that arecarried by each of the bands to be perceived visually on the upper sideof the hand.

The angular width of each of the openings of the bands of the first andsecond rings is preferably between 25° and 130°, preferably between 30°and 120°, preferably being sufficient to permit the engagement of theitem of jewelry on the finger from the side, as indicated above.

The bands preferably each extend in a plane, preferably a median planeof symmetry for the band. Thus, the extremities of the band may not beoffset in the axis of the band.

The bands are preferably made of metal, in particular yellow, white,rose or black gold, platinum, steel, titanium or silver.

The first ring and the second ring are preferably of different diametersin order to permit the correct placement of the rings on the firstphalanx and the second phalanx of the finger.

The first ring and the third ring, and respectively the second ring andthe fourth ring, may be of the same diameter.

Each ring preferably caries a decorative element set on a mount, thedecorative element possibly being unique and being secured to the band,in particular at one extremity of the open band. This decorative elementmay be a semi-precious stone, a pearl and/or a precious stone, inparticular a diamond, ruby, sapphire or emerald. The rings may carrydecorative elements of similar kinds, for example diamonds or pearls ofequal or different sizes.

The rings may carry decorative elements of different kinds, for examplestones and pearls, of equal or different sizes.

In an example of the implementation of the invention, the mount, andpreferably the mounts, are each cantilevered on the external side of theone or more bands of each ring. This cantilever mounting makes itpossible, with regard to the first ring and the third ring intended tobe fitted on the first phalanx, to benefit from the support offered bythe finger adjacent to that finger wearing the item of jewelry. Thecantilever mounting of the decorative elements may also contribute tothe aesthetically appealing aspect, by permitting the decorativeelements to be moved apart from one another, if this is desired, and tothe practical aspect by leaving the opening of the bands sufficientlyfree to permit the fitting of the item of jewelry on the finger from theside.

When the rings each carry a decorative element, these decorativeelements may or may not be disposed in opposition to one another.

The bands of the rings and/or the sliding link may comprise additionaldecorative elements distributed on at least one part of their surface,in particular their visible surface, when the item of jewelry is beingworn on the finger, in particular small semi-precious stones, pearlsand/or precious stones, in particular diamonds, rubies, sapphires oremeralds.

Each ring may comprise a simple band or, as a variant, multiple bands,in particular two bands. In this case, the bands of one and the samering are preferably identical and may be linked by a bar positioned onthe underside, the sliding link preferably being in continuation of saidbar. The bar may be a portion of the slide or of the slider. The barsare preferably made from the same material as the bands.

The invention may be more readily appreciated from a perusal of thefollowing detailed description of non-restrictive illustrativeembodiments thereof, and from an examination of the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts in perspective a first example of an item of jewelryaccording to the invention,

FIG. 2 depicts a perspective view from the side of the item of jewelryin FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 depicts a view from the front of the item of jewelry in FIGS. 1and 2,

FIG. 4 depicts a view from below of the item of jewelry in FIGS. 1 to 3,the link being at its maximum extension,

FIG. 5 depicts a view from below of the item of jewelry in FIGS. 1 to 4,the link being at its minimum extension,

FIG. 6 depicts the item of jewelry in FIGS. 1 to 5 folded at itsarticulation,

FIG. 7 is a view of the underside of the item of jewelry in FIGS. 1 to 6being worn on an extended finger,

FIG. 8 depicts the item of jewelry on the finger in FIG. 7, the fingerbeing bent,

FIG. 9 depicts a view from below of a variant of the item of jewelrybeing worn on an extended finger, and

FIG. 10 depicts the item of jewelry in FIG. 7 on the bent finger.

Illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 8 is an item of jewelry 10 to wear on thefinger comprising three rings 20, 30 and 40 connected together by asliding link 50.

In the example in question, the rings 20, 30 and 40 each respectivelycomprise a single respective open band 21, 31 and 41. In a variant, notillustrated here, the rings comprise multiple bands.

The band 21 carries at one extremity 22 a decorative element 23 which iscomposed of a stone set in a mount 24, for example, as illustrated.Likewise, the band 31 and the band 41, respectively at one extremity 32,33, carry a decorative element 33 and 43 composed of a stone set in amount 34, 44. Each mount 24, 34 and/or 44 may be made from the samematerial as the band 21, 31 and/or 41 and may be soldered to the latter.It permits the rigid support of the decorative element on the band, inparticular by means of prongs.

The other extremities 25, 35 and 45 of the respective bands 21, 31 and41 are free. The extremities 22 and 25 of the band 21 between themdefine an opening 26. The same is true of the extremities 32 and 35,which define an opening 36, and the extremities 42 and 45, which definean opening 46.

Preferably, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the angular width of the opening26 of the ring 20 is substantially equal to the angular width of theopening 36 of the ring 30 and greater than the angular width of theopening 46 of the ring 40.

The angular width a of the openings 26 and 36, measured from the centerof the bands 21 and 31, is preferably between 90° and 135°, preferablybetween 100° and 130°, being for example 105°. The angular width a ofthe opening 46, measured from the center of the band 41, is preferablybetween 25° and 90°, preferably between 25° and 65°, being for example30°. In the example in question, the angular widths of the openings 26and 46 are different, although this may be otherwise. The angular widthspreferably lie between 25° and 135°.

The angular width γ of the arc, which extends on the band 21 from thecenter of the junction 51 of the sliding link 50 with the band 21 as faras the extremity 22, is preferably between 100° and 170°, and theangular width β of the arc extending between the junction point 51 andthe free extremity 25 is preferably smaller than or equal to the angle γand is preferably between 100° and 170°.

This is preferably also the case for the rings 30 and 40 for the arcsextending respectively from the centers of the junctions 52 and 53 ofthe sliding link 50 with the bands 31 and 41 as far as the extremities32 and 35 and 42 and 45.

For the rings 20 and 30, one has for example β=120°, γ=135° and for thering 40 one has for example β=165°, γ=165°.

The rings 20 and 30 may be of the same internal diameter, said internaldiameter of the rings 20 and 30 being different from the internaldiameter of the ring 40. The rings 20 and 30 intended to be placed onthe first phalanx of the finger are in particular larger than the ring40 intended to be placed on the second phalanx of the finger. Theinternal diameter of the rings 20, 30 and 40 is between 10 mm and 25 mm.

In the illustrated example, the sliding link is constituted by a slider54 sliding freely on an axis X in a slide 55. The slide 55 comprises twoparallel bars 55 a and 55 a, of which the spacing is slightly greaterthan that of the slider 54.

A bridge 55 b connects the bars 55 a directly below the ring 30 in orderto define an opening 55 c for guiding the slider 54. The latter isprevented from becoming disengaged from the opening by an abutment 59formed at its extremity.

The slider 54 is of non-circular section, as is the opening 55 c, as canbe seen in FIG. 2, which prevents rotation of the slider 54 about itsaxis.

The slide 55 connects the rings 20 and 30, which are each secured viatheir face 28,38 with respect to the bands 21,31, rigidly at oneextremity of the slide 55. The distance between the rings 20 and 30 isthus fixed. The length K of the slide is preferably between 5 mm and 30mm, and preferably between 10 mm and 20 mm, for example beingsubstantially equal to 16 mm. The ring 40 is secured to the freeextremity 57 of the slider 54. Thus, the distance between the rings 20and 30 and the ring 40 may vary.

As illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the slider 54 may slide in the slide 55from a position of maximum extension L_(max) to a position of minimumextension L_(min), the length of the sliding link being measured betweenthe free extremity 56 of the slide 55 and the free extremity 57 of theslider 54. Preferably, the minimum length L_(min) is between 10 mm and40 mm, preferably between 20 mm and 30 mm, and the maximum lengthL_(max) is between 10 mm and 40 mm, preferably between 20 mm and 30 mm.In the example illustrated here, the minimum length L_(min) issubstantially equal to 23 mm, and the maximum length L_(max) issubstantially equal to 32 mm.

The slide 55 may comprise an abutment 58, against which the slider 54comes into contact when the length of the sliding link 50 is at itsminimum.

As illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 8, the item of jewelry 10 may bearticulated. The slider 54 comprises two parts 54 a and 54 b connectedtogether by an articulation 59. The part 54 a is inserted into the slide55 and is displaced in the latter, and the part 54 b is connected to thering 40. The articulation 59 makes it possible to fold the underside ofthe ring 40 towards the underside of the rings 20 and 30 by rotationabout an axis Y perpendicular to the axis of sliding X.

The abutment 58 is positioned in such a way that, when the extension ofthe sliding link is minimal, that is to say when the part 54 a comesinto contact with the abutment 58, the articulation 59 remains outsidethe slide 55, as can be seen in FIG. 5.

When the item of jewelry 10 is being worn on the finger D, asillustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, the rings 20 and 30 are positioned on afirst phalanx P1, and the ring 40 is positioned on a second phalanx P2.The articulation 59 moves into position beneath the junction J betweenthe two phalanges P1 and P2 wearing the item of jewelry 10, in such away that the item of jewelry 10 is able to bend with the finger D thatis wearing it.

In the example illustrated here, the mounts 24 and 34 are mounted inopposition when the item of jewelry is viewed from above, that is to saythat the mount 24 carried by the ring 20 is situated on the left side,for example, whereas the mount 34 carried by the ring 30 is situated onthe right side, and the mounts 34 and 44 may be situated on the sameside of the bands 31 and 41. The situation may be otherwise, however,without going beyond the scope of the invention.

The bands 21, 31 and 41, the sliding link 50 and/or the mounts 24, 34and 44 are preferably made of the same material, in particular a metal.

The decorative element 23, 33 and 43 that is present on each ring 20, 30and 40 is preferably disposed in such a way as to permit the fitting andthe removal of the ring 20, 30 or 40 by introducing the latter onto thefinger D from the side, and not by sliding it over the tip of the fingerD.

The decorative element 23, 33 and 43 that is present on each ring 20, 30and 40 is preferably cantilevered on the ring 20, 30 or 40.

The presence of the relatively short sliding link 50 permits the rings20, 30 and 40 to be held together.

The rings 20, 30 and 40 may comprise additional decorative elements 27that are present on the visible parts of the bands 21, 31 and 41 and ofthe sliding link 50, in particular the slider 54 and the slide 55.

These decorative elements 23, 33 and 43 and the additional decorativeelements 27 may be semi-precious stones, pearls and/or precious stones,in particular a diamond, ruby, sapphire or emerald.

The item of jewelry 10 depicted in FIGS. 5 to 7 differs from that whichis described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 in the fact that itcomprises a supplementary ring 60 disposed on the part 54 b of the slidein proximity to the articulation 59.

The invention is not limited to the examples described above.

In particular, the rings may be made with more than two bands.

In one variant, decorative elements are disposed at the two extremitiesof at least one of the bands, bordering on the opening of the latter. Inthis case, the decorative elements are of unequal sizes, for example.

In another variant, at least one of the decorative elements is a pearl.

1. An item of jewelry to wear on the finger comprising: a first ring towear on the finger, a second ring to wear on the same finger, a slidinglink connecting the first ring and the second ring together, the slidinglink comprising a slide and a slider, the slider sliding in the slide,the first ring being secured on the slide, and the second ring beingsecured to the slider.
 2. The item of jewelry as claimed in claim 1, thesliding link connecting the first ring and the second ring together viathe underside of the finger.
 3. The item of jewelry as claimed in claim1, the greatest length L_(max) of the sliding link at its maximumextension being between 20 mm and 50 mm and the smallest length L_(min)of the sliding link at its minimum extension being between 10 mm and 40mm.
 4. The item of jewelry as claimed in claim 1, the first ring beingsecured at one extremity of the slide, and the second ring being securedto the free extremity of the slider.
 5. The item of jewelry as claimedin claim 1, the sliding link being duplicated by an articulationconfigured in order to permit the wearer to bend the finger when theitem of jewelry is being worn.
 6. The item of jewelry as claimed inclaim 5, the slider exhibiting a first part and a second part connectedtogether by an articulation.
 7. The item of jewelry as claimed in claim6, the first part being inserted into the slide, and the second partcarrying the second ring.
 8. The item of jewelry as claimed in claim 1,comprising a third ring connected to the first ring and to the secondring by the sliding link.
 9. The item of jewelry as claimed in claim 1,comprising a fourth ring connected to the first ring and to the secondring by the sliding link in proximity to the articulation.
 10. The itemof jewelry as claimed in claim 1, each of the rings comprising an openband to wear on the finger, the opening of the band of the rings beingsituated on the upper side of said rings.
 11. The item of jewelry asclaimed in claim 1, the angular width of each of the openings of thebands of the rings being between 25° and 130°.
 12. The item of jewelryas claimed in claim 1, each ring comprising a decorative element. 13.The item of jewelry as claimed in claim 12, the mounts beingcantilevered on the rings.
 14. The item of jewelry as claimed in claim7, the bands of the rings and/or the sliding link comprising additionaldecorative elements distributed on at least one part of their surface.